WASHINGTON — A new report says violent extremism and domestic terrorism pose "a serious and growing threat to safety in the U.S." It also says federal agencies could improve how they prevent and counter future incidents.
The Government Accountability Office says the FBI and Department of Homeland Security could develop comprehensive strategies to thwart violent events before they happen.
The report says the two agencies could strengthen how they share threat information to prevent or address attacks like the January 6 Capitol riot.
So far, 1,033 people have been arrested for the attack with approximately 485 federal defendants receiving sentences. About 277 defendants have been sentenced to time behind bars, and roughly 113 defendants have been sentenced to a period of home detention.
The GAO report says law enforcement could do a better job coordinating the collection of useful incident data.
An earlier GAO report from March showed that the FBI's number of open domestic terrorism-related cases grew by 357% from 2013 through 2021.